Like many specialist anglers I spend a considerable amount of time in pursuit of one or a few individual fish. The effort involved means the event is often memorable and can highlight a season. Other than the memory, which is arguably the most special because it's personal, a quality trophy shot is paramount and above all motivates in the leaner times!
Like many an angler, I have made the switch to a dSLR (digital single lens reflex) camera, recognising the potential to improve my photographic results from this piece of equipment. However, not really using the camera beyond the automatic modes was seriously limiting the potential quality of my images, and producing results that a camera less than half the cost would easily match.
Having tried reading various photographic monthlies and specialist books (even the dummies guide!) little was sinking in and translating into results, so the idea of a photographic course run by an angler and journalist/photographer sounded interesting.
The course itself is flexible, catering for the individual, group for a weekend or for the day only. Having attended the weekend course I can comment only on this.
The course was run at Foxearth Fisheries near Sudbury in Suffolk,a pleasant and intimate commercial fishery, well naturalised with good facilities and ideally suited for such an activity. Saturday was spent going through some of the initial theory that underpins successful photography. The pace was moderate and was well related to angling which helped us to stay engaged! It was clear that Pete is enthusiastic about the subject area and so is keen to get across the fundamentals at a level which is understood.
The night was spent on the venue whereby into the evening Pete came round and ran through some exercises putting into practice the theory learned in the day. It was at this point that the penny began to drop. Practically learning in this way was seriously valuable and no amount of reading could match it. In fact, I was so inspired I was up at first light playing with this toy that I had owned but had not even scratched at the surface of its capabilities!
Sunday continued on the practical theme with more opportunity to run through the camera's modes. Pete also ran through his experience of feature writing and offered advice and tips. Although it's not something I personally would pursue, it was interesting none the less and I can imagine it appealing to quite a few anglers.
Whether you simply want to improve your photography for yourself or potentially for commercial reasons this course is unique and is something worth considering. Check out the website www.clickcarp.com, for further details.
